Methods and apparatus for examining mechanisms for the existence of play therein



METHODS A AP ATU'S FO May 21, 1968 P MAMIE; 3,383,983

OF P

AMINING MEC ISMS FO HE X STENCE LAY THEREI Filed March 18, 1966beets-Sheet l F/Gfl- T0 sucnou wmmmm I -2 May 21, 1968 p, AM 3,383,983

METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR MINING MECHANISMS FOR THE EXISTENCE OF PLAYTHEREIN Filed March 18, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet. i;

.OPTICAL ENLARGING SYSTEM May 21, 1968 FOR THE EXISTENCE OF PLAY THEREINFiled March 18, 1966 P. AMIE METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR EXAMININGMECHANISMS 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent 3,383,983 METHODS ANDAPPARATUS FOR EXAMINING MECHANISMS FOR THE EXISTEN CE OF PLAY THEREINPhilippe Mamie, Le Sentier, Switzerland, assignor to SA. de la FabriquedHoriogerie le Coultre et Cie, Le Sentier, Switzerland Filed Mar. 18,1966, Ser. No. 535,389 Claims priority, application Switzerland, May 31,1965, 7,641/ 65 11 Claims. (CI. 88-44) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Amethod and device for examining a watch mechanism for play by applyingsuction and pressure in suc cession to a gear shaft of the movement tocause the shaft to undergo displacement in the bearings of its supportto the extent of its play and projecting an enlarged image of themechanism on a screen to observe the play.

It is known to effect the control of the position of elements of amechanism by projecting an image of said elements on an enlarged scaleon a screen.

The present invention employs such a concept in a novel arrangement fordetermining the existence of any play in a mechanism for the purpose ofcorrecting such mechanism to eliminate the play.

More particularly, the present invention relates to methods andapparatus for examining a mechanism to determine the existence of anyplay therein. The invention contemplates the providing of an enlargedprojection of at least one portion of said mechanism to furnish anenlarged view of said mechanism, said methods and apparatus beingoperative to pneumatically induce at the time of observationdisplacement in the mechanism within the limits of its play.

The apparatus according to the invention comprises an optical enlargingsystem capable of projecting an image of at least a portion of themechanism on a screen and a movable support adjacent the objective ofthe enlarging apparatus and arranged so as to be capable of connectingthe part of the mechanism to be displaced to means which is adapted forapplying pressure or suction force to said mechanism.

Thus, the present invention employs pneumatic means to apply suction andpressure forces alternately to induce displacement of the part of themechanism whose play is being examined. This and further features of theinvention will be described hereinafter in conjunction with the attacheddrawing which shows an embodiment of the invention given by way ofexample.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic view on a greatly enlarged scale of a portionof an embodiment of the invention intended to facilitate anunderstanding of the invention;

FIGURE 1a shows a modification of the arrangement in FIG. 1;

FIGURE 2 is a front view of a portion of the device;

FIGURE 3 is a side view of the portion of the device shown in FIG. 2;

FIGURE 4 is a front view of a detail of the support of the mechanism tobe examined; and

FIGURE 5 is a side view in section thereof.

Referring now to the diagrammatic view of FIG. 1, the left portion showsa part of the support means and the mechanism to be examined as itappears on an enlarged scale on the screen defined by the dashdotline 1. The right portion of FIG. 1 shows on the same scale theremainder of the support means for the mechanism. In reality, thestructure illustrated in FIG. 1 is, for example, 10 to 20 times smallerthan that shown, depending on the enlarging ratio selected.

For explanation of the present invention, it is assumed that themechanism being examined is part of a watch or clock movement, althoughthe invention is not limited to this field.

The mechanism comprises a mounting plate 2, a bridge 3 and a gear train4 mounted for pivotal movement be tween plate 2 and bridge 3.

As will be seen from the drawing, said gear train is mounted with axialplay between the jewel bearings 5 and 6 in the plate 2 and bridge 3respectively. The gear train is able to move axially between the endposition 4 (shown in solid line), and the end position 4' (shown indashdot lines). This displacement represents the play which must bedetermined, possibly measured, and then corrected.

During the testing, the mounting plate 2 is held on a support 7, by airsuction through the holes 8, as indicated by the arrows.

Opposite the bearing 5, the support 7 has a hole 9 which can beconnected to a pneumatic means which makes it possible to exert either apressure or a suction, as indicated by the arrow pointing in twodirections.

By this means, and without any other intervention, it is possible tocause the gear train 4 to be displaced axially within the limits of itsplay and to observe the latter on the screen 1 without the support meansand the mechanism being subjected to any other displacement, which wouldmake the testing of the axial play less precise.

A portion of the screen has a network of parallel lines 10 which may, ofcourse, extend over the entire surface of the screen and which isutilized to obtain an accurate measurement of the play encountered. Theelimination of the play in the mechanism is effected by a workman basedon the observed movement on the screen.

The pneumatic holding of the mounting plate 2 on the support 7 has theadvantage of making it possible readily to place the plate 2 on thesupport, to remove the plate, and to replace it again to check theaction taken if the observed play is corrected as the observationproceeds. The hole 9 is shown coaxial with the bearings 5 and 6 and theshaft of the gear train. It is also possible to act on the gear wheelitself of the gear mechanism as shown in the alternate arrangement inFIG. 1a. Therein it is seen that the position of plate 2 and bridge 3have been reversed and that bridge 3 is supported against support 7while suction or pressure is applied to the gear wheel W of themechanism via hole 9'.

The front view in FIG. 2 shows the screen 1 carried by a base 11 on awork table 12. In FIG. 2 there can be seen an objective 13 pointingdownwardly toward the mechanism to be examined (not shown).

The side view of FIG. 3 shows that the unit resembles a bracket, thecase of the screen being designated by 1' and housing an opticalenlarging system between the objective 13 and the screen 1. Such opticalenlarging system is known per se, and it is therefore not described indetail.

Mounted on the work table 12 below the objective 13 is a base 14 (FIGS.4 and 5) which telescopically supports a ring or sleeve 15, in which acylindrical body 16 is rotatably mounted.

An interchangeable and replaceable support 17 is threadably attached onthe end of said cylindrical body adjacent the objective 13. Saidinterchangeable support corresponds to support 7 in FIG. 1, but isadapted for the testing of a different type of mechanism. It is to beunderstood in this respect that each support is adapted, in eachparticular case, to the type of mechanism to be examined.

In the arrangement in FIGS. 4 and 5, the mechanism 18 has three geartrains to be tested, which are shown diagrammatically by the three axles19.

The support 17 is adapted for the testing of said mechanism and isprovided with three appropriately positioned holes 19.

A conduit 2% communicates through the interior of the body 16 with anopening 30 in support 17 to exert a suction force suitable formaintaining the mechanism to be tested against the support 17. A secondconduit 21 opens into bore 31 and permits the application of a pressureor a suction to the holes 19 leading to the gear trains indicated bytheir axles 19.

For this purpose there is employed a two-way valve .0, located on thework table 12 close to the operator. The valve 46 is connected tosuction and pressure sources and includes a spring loaded button 41 bywhich suction or pressure can be applied to the conduit 21 and therebyto the mechanism being tested.

It is obvious that in an arrangement such as the one just described,where several parts of the mechanism must be tested, it is not possibleto position all of said parts with respect to the objective 13 at thesame time. Each part must be examined separately. For this reason thecylindrical body 16 is rotatably carried by the ring 15. By causing saidbody 16 to rotate together with the sup port 17 and the mechanism 18, itbecomes possible to bring each axle 19 successively into proper positionunder the objective 13. Moreover, it is possible to provide properfocusing by enabling the ring 15 to be raised or lowered on the base 14.

The above movements may be controlled by levers, cams and the like, asis well known in the art.

It is also obvious that the position of the mechanism 18 on the support17 must be precise and cannot be chosen at random, not only because ofthe operation of the abovementioned focusing adjustments, but alsobecause of the necessary coincidence between the holes 19' and the axles19. Such clearly defined position can be obtained by any adequate meansof cooperation between the mechanism 18 and the support 17, such asstuds or pegs 22.

The illumination of the articles tested can be effected from below, inthe direction of the objective, as for example, by lamp L or else bydirect reflection, or even by combining these two arrangements.

From the above it will be apparent that herein has been disclosedmethods and apparatus for examining a mechanism to determine theexistence of any play therein by supporting such mechanism in a fixedposition by the application of suction force thereon, and including thedisplacement of the part of the mechanism whose play is being examinedby the application of alternate suction and pressure force on the saidpart, all while Projecting an enlarged image of said part on a screen tofacilitate observing the play induced therein.

There will now be obvious to those skilled in the art modifications andvariations of the disclosed invention without departing from the scopeand spirit of the invention as defined in the attached claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A method of examining a watch mechanism to determine the existence ofplay of the movement thereof in a support for said movement, said methodcomprising holding the support of the watch mechanism in a fixedposition while the movement is displaceable on said support to theextent of any axial play, applying suction and pressure in succession tothe movement to cause the movement to undergo axial displacement to theextent of its play in the watch mechanism, and projecting an enlargedimage of the mechanism to observe the play induced in the movementthereof.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said support is held in fixedposition by applying suction force to said support to maintain thesupport against a fixed member.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said movement has a shaft andsaid support has a bearing in which the shaft is received, said suctionand pressure being applied to the movement by exerting the suction andpressure to the shaft through the bearing.

4. A device for examining a watch mechanism having a movement mounted ina support to determine the existence of any axial play of the movementin the support, said device comprising means for supporting a mechanismwhich is to be examined such that the support of the mechanism is heldstationary and the movement of the mechanism is free of axialdisplacement to the extent of any axial play thereof in said support,and means for applying suction and pressure force in succession to themovement of the mechanism such that the movement undergoes axialdisplacement in said support to the extent of its play therein.

5. A device as claimed in claim 4, wherein said movement has a gearshaft and said support is provided with a hole containing a bearingwhich receives the gear shaft, said means for applying the suction andpressure force being in communication with the hole in the support forapplying the suction and pressure force directly on the gear shaft todisplace the same in said bearing.

6. A device as claimed in claim 4, comprising means for projecting anenlarged image of the mechanism when the latter is supported on saidfirst means to facilitate observance of any play induced in the movementof said mechanism.

7. A device as claimed in claim 6, wherein said first means comprises asupport member for directly receiving said support of said mechanism,and a displaceable body for interchangeably supporting said supportmember.

8. A device as claimed in claim 7, wherein said means for projecting anenlarged image comprises an objective, said displaceable body beingadjacent said objective and movable with respect thereto.

9. A device as claimed in claim 8, wherein said displaceable body issupported for rotation about an axis perpendicular to the axis of saidobjective so that as said displaceable body is rotated, dilferentportions of the mechanism are operatively positioned adjacent theobjective.

10. A device as claimed in claim 9, comprising a base supporting saiddisplaceable body for movement towards and away from the objective.

11. A device as claimed in claim 10, comprising means for illuminatingsaid mechanism from a side thereof opposite said objective.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,321,838 5/1967 Albertson 33174FOREIGN PATENTS 1,202,491 7/ 1959 France.

NORTON ANSHER, Primary Examiner.

GEORGE M. HOFFMAN, Assistant Examiner.

